Thermal insulation panel for buildings

ABSTRACT

The thermal insulation panel for buildings is an insulation panel for houses, offices and other edifices, the panel having variable thermal insulation properties that depend upon ambient temperature conditions. The thermal insulation panel for buildings includes a thermally insulating core formed from foam, plastic or the like, and a pair of outer layers that are each formed from a functionally graded material. The thermal insulation core is sandwiched between the pair of outer layers. The functionally graded material may be a laminate in the form of a dense ceramic layer formed of Al 2 O 3  and ZrO 2  and a nickel layer, or may be formed from boron nanoribbons or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to insulation panels for buildings, and particularly to a thermal insulation panel for buildings constructed from functionally graded material such that the insulating properties of the panel change, depending upon ambient temperature.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Various types of insulation are used in the construction of houses, office buildings and the like. Modular insulating panels formed from fiberglass or other insulating materials are extremely common in construction. Such insulating panels, however, are formed from conventional materials with static dimensions and configurations. Thus, the thermal conductivity of the insulating panel never varies. As such, the insulating panel is effective in reducing thermal conductivity through the walls of the building, but cannot effect any heat exchange itself, thus requiring conventional systems, such as internal heaters, air conditioners and the like, to be the only means for internal temperature control. It would obviously be desirable to provide insulating panels that not only provide effective thermal insulation, but which also serve to enhance desired heat exchange for temperature control within the building.

Thus, a thermal insulation panel for buildings solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The thermal insulation panel for buildings is an insulating panel for houses, offices and other edifices, the panel having variable thermal insulation properties that depend upon ambient temperature conditions. The thermal insulation panel for buildings includes a thermal insulation core formed from foam, plastic or the like, and a pair of outer layers that are each formed from a functionally graded material. The thermal insulation core is sandwiched between the pair of outer layers. The functionally graded material may be a laminate in the form of a dense ceramic layer formed of Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ and a nickel layer, or may be alternatively be formed from boron nanoribbons or the like.

It should be understood that any suitable type of functionally graded material may be utilized. The type of functionally graded material forming the outer layers is selected such that the thermal insulating properties of the outer layers changes in response to changes in ambient temperature.

The thermal insulation core may be solid or honeycombed. Alternatively, a hollow housing may be used as the thermal insulation core to receive a circulating, phase changing fluid, similar to that used in conventional refrigeration, air conditioning and the like.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view in section of a thermal insulation panel for buildings according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a thermal insulation panel for buildings according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view in section of a single outer layer of the thermal insulation panel for buildings of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded view of another alternative embodiment of a thermal insulation panel for buildings according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of yet another alternative embodiment of a thermal insulation panel for buildings according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As best seen in FIG. 1, the thermal insulation panel for buildings, a first embodiment of which is designated generally as 10 in the drawings, includes an insulating core 14 sandwiched between a pair of outer layers 12. The outer layers 12 are each formed from a functionally graded material. As is well known in the art of materials science, functionally graded materials are characterized by a variation in composition and structure gradually over volume, resulting in corresponding changes in the properties of the material. Various approaches based on the bulk (particulate processing), preform processing, layer processing and melt processing are used to fabricate functionally graded materials, and thin layers for use as coatings may be formed by vapor deposition. The outer layers 12 of the panel may be formed by any suitable method.

Using functionally graded material to form the outer layers 12 allows the thermal insulating panel 10 to have relatively high strength and adaptable thermal insulating properties. The functionally graded material is a phase changing material, and may be used as a heat exchanging material in the panel 10, as is conventionally known within heating venting, air conditioning and the like. As will be described in further detail below, the phase changing properties of the panel 10 may be used in combination with heat pumps, air conditioning systems or the like to increase the efficiency of heat exchange with the surrounding environment.

The type of functionally graded material forming outer layers 12 is selected such that the thermal insulating properties of the outer layers 12 changes in response to changes in ambient temperature. The use of such temperature changing materials is described in the article, Mohammad Javad Sadeghi, Payam Masudifar and Foad Faizi, “The Function of Smart Material's behavior in architecture”, 2011 International Conference on Intelligent Building and Management, Proc. of CSIT vol.5 (2011), pgs. 317-322. Further, in the article, Juekuan Yang, Yang Yang, Scott W. Waltermire, Xiaoxia Wu, Haitao Zhang, Timothy Gutu, Youfei Jiang, Yunfei Chen, Alfred A. Zinn, Ravi Prasher, Terry T. Xu and Deyu Li, “Enhanced and switchable nanoscale thermal conduction due to van der Waals interfaces”, Nature Nanotechnology 7,91-95 (2012), boron nanoribbons are shown to have a thermal conductivity variance of up to 45% between upper and lower conductivity limits.

The outer layers 12 may be made from any suitable type of functionally graded material, such as boron nanoribbons, or a dense ceramic of Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ combined with a metal, such as nickel. FIG. 3 illustrates a single outer layer 12, formed from a dense ceramic layer 16, formed from Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂, with a relatively thin metallic layer 18, formed from nickel. The layer 12 is configured so as to effect thermal transfer from one side to the other upon reaching a certain trigger temperature. For example, when the ambient temperature is 30° C., carbides are forced to migrate from the metallic layer 18 towards the ceramic layer 16. This changes the distribution of the overall thermal insulating material, thus changing the overall thermal insulation of the panel. A lower trigger temperature of, for example, 20° C. reverses the process.

The core 14 may be any conventional thermal insulator, such as foam, plastic or the like. The core 14 may be formed as a solid, or, as shown in FIG. 2, may have a honeycomb type configuration. In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 3, the insulating panel 100 includes a pair of outer layers 112, similar to outer layers 12 described above, but with the core 14 replaced by a housing 114 adapted for receiving a phase changing fluid, such as fatty acids, paraffin or the like, as is well known in the fields of refrigeration, air conditioning, heat exchange and the like. In addition to the phase change properties of the functionally graded material outer layers 112, the material within the core housing 114 is also a phase change material. The fluid enters the housing through inlet port 116 and exits the housing 114 through outlet port 118, allowing for circulation of the phase changing fluid through the housing 114 by external pipes 120, 122 or the like.

In the further alternative embodiment of FIG. 5, a serpentine circulating coil 130 connects the inlet port 116 to the outlet port 118, allowing the phase changing fluid to pass through the circulating coil 130 within the housing 114, as is conventionally known in refrigeration, air conditioners and the like. Similar to such systems the insulating panel 100 may be coupled with fans, ducts, heat exchangers and the like.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

We claim:
 1. A thermal insulation panel for buildings, comprising: a thermally insulation core; and a pair of outer layers, each of the outer layers being formed from a functionally graded material, the thermal insulation core being sandwiched between the pair of outer layers.
 2. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 1, wherein each said outer layer comprises a ceramic layer and a metallic layer.
 3. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 2, wherein the ceramic layer comprises Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂.
 4. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 3, wherein the metallic layer comprises nickel.
 5. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 1, wherein the thermal insulation core has a honeycomb configuration.
 6. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 1, wherein the thermal insulation core comprises a hollow housing having an inlet port and an outlet port formed therethrough, the hollow housing being adapted for having a phase changing fluid circulated therethrough.
 7. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 6, further comprising a hollow circulation coil fluidly connecting the inlet port to the outlet port such that the phase changing fluid passes through the hollow circulation coil.
 8. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 1, wherein the functionally graded material comprises boron nanoribbons.
 9. A thermal insulation panel for buildings, comprising: a thermal insulation core; and a pair of outer layers, each of the outer layers being formed from a functionally graded material, the thermal insulation core being sandwiched between the pair of outer layers, each of the outer layers having a ceramic layer formed of Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ and a nickel layer.
 10. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 9, wherein the thermal insulation core has a honeycomb configuration.
 11. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 9, wherein the thermal insulation core comprises a hollow housing having an inlet port and an outlet port formed therethrough, the hollow housing being adapted for having a phase changing fluid circulated therethrough.
 12. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 11, further comprising a hollow circulation coil fluidly connecting the inlet port to the outlet port such that the phase changing fluid passes through the hollow circulation coil.
 13. A thermal insulation panel for buildings, comprising: a thermal insulation core; and a pair of outer layers, each of the outer layers being formed from a functionally graded material, the thermal insulation core being sandwiched between the pair of outer layers, the functionally graded material including boron nanoribbons.
 14. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 13, wherein the thermal insulation core has a honeycomb configuration.
 15. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 13, wherein the thermal insulation core comprises a hollow housing having an inlet port and an outlet port formed therethrough, the hollow housing being adapted for having a phase changing fluid circulated therethrough.
 16. The thermal insulation panel for buildings as recited in claim 15, further comprising a hollow circulation coil fluidly connecting the inlet port to the outlet port such that the phase changing fluid passes through the hollow circulation coil. 